When a dark mage’s spatial control begins, there’s virtually no theoretical countermeasure.

This held true even in *Aether World Online*, making debuff-heavy dark mages one of the least popular bosses among players. Facing an opponent who weakened you wasn’t enjoyable, especially when it didn’t make the fight any more challenging or rewarding—just frustrating.

*How am I supposed to deal with this?*

The answer was that there was no answer.

Scarlet presented the challenge, urging him to counter it immediately. What was she really up to?

“I won’t move a single step from here. If Cadet Baek Yuseol can break through my interference and reach me, simply touching me, the exercise will be over!”

“All I have to do is get there?”

“If you succeed, I’ll skip today’s homework~!”

At that, a chorus of cheers erupted from the students. In any other school, the offer of ending class early might have been more enticing. But here, at an elite academy filled with students who were eager to learn, the promise of no homework sparked enthusiasm.

“Baek Yuseol! You can do it!”  
“Come on, you got this!”

Taken aback by the sudden support, Baek Yuseol realized just how intense the students’ stress over assignments must have been.

“Alright, I’ll give you five minutes to prepare before we begin. Think carefully about how to escape the influence of this spatial control,” Scarlet offered.

“Five minutes?”

“Four minutes, 58 seconds left now~”

The unexpected preparation time threw Baek Yuseol off. No matter how much time he had, even five hundred years, there was no real way to escape a dark mage’s spatial domain. And yet, she was giving him this time—why?

*No matter. I’ll take what I can get.*

He immediately began breathing with Tae Ryeong’s Spiritual Art. He’d become so accustomed to it by now that it activated without any special preparations. His mastery had progressed to the point where he could easily cut through spells up to the fourth class with minimal effort.

**[Derivative skill of Yeonhongchun Samwol, Super Focus, has been activated.]**

With the full five minutes dedicated to concentration, “Super Focus” activated naturally, and his breathing became smoother and steadier.

When he opened his eyes, he found that five minutes had passed, and Scarlet’s magic was converging from all sides.

But he didn’t feel threatened. Though his movements had slowed within the “Clouds of Dawn” domain, it didn’t matter.

Scarlet’s spells seemed even slower to him.

*Is this what it feels like…?*

The derivative skill “Super Focus” had grown stronger, shortening its activation time and increasing its duration and effectiveness with each use. Though the skill had a drawback—draining his mental energy afterward, forcing him to make a decisive move—the boost was invaluable in critical moments.

*It’s still not quite the same as that moment back then.*

During his fight with Cheol Ribun, he had activated Super Focus instantly, without any preparation, experiencing a supernatural state where it seemed as if time had stopped. By comparison, things were still in motion now, and it had taken a full five minutes to reach this level.

A black whip lashed toward his cheek. The “Clouds of Dawn” domain allowed lower-class dark spells to be unleashed without preparation, but these posed no real threat to Baek Yuseol.

*Slash!*

Effortlessly cutting through the whip, Baek Yuseol used Blink to teleport ten meters forward. Moments later, a volley of dark arrows rained down where he had stood, shattering the ground.

Though it seemed reckless to use such powerful magic against a student, it didn’t matter as long as it missed.

His uniform, enhanced by Alterisha, granted him resistance to dark magic, preventing any serious harm. It felt like he was using a customized suit in a world where others used standard ones, but the academy didn’t restrict him from applying his abilities to his own uniform.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

As he advanced, ignoring Scarlet’s spells, they struggled to keep up, barely striking afterimages he left behind.

However, it was far from a complete victory. For now, he was simply evading lower-level spells with impressive reaction time, but he hadn’t truly countered the spatial control.

Just when he thought he’d approached Scarlet, a black curtain of darkness suddenly obscured his vision, forcing him to retreat.

*Whoosh!*

Dozens of ghostly hands emerged from the curtain, clawing at him. He sidestepped to evade them, but more hands shot up from the ground, making it nearly impossible to avoid them all.

While he could cut down the hands that reached him, it was a futile effort. Each strike only slowed his progress, and he continued to be pushed further away from Scarlet.

*Damn, how do I break through this?*

As a Blink mage, Baek Yuseol was supposed to be able to eliminate the concept of distance. But in an enemy-controlled domain, even Blink was useless.

If she could wall off his approach entirely and attack him with the full space at her command, there truly was no answer.

*Even if I take damage, I have to break through!*

It seemed like the curtain in front of him was an insurmountable barrier, but perhaps that was an illusion.

One strike.

One strike might be enough to cut through it like fabric.

The problem was the curtain’s immense size and height—at least five meters high, far too large to cleave in one blow.

*…Impossible? Really?*

A thought occurred to him.

Scarlet was holding back, and the dark curtain was a mere fifth-class spell.

But what if it were a sixth, seventh, or even eighth-class spell?

In that case, even bigger and tougher magic would certainly exist.

*How did Ha Taeryeong… handle things like this?*

Centuries ago, he had been a legendary swordsman who hunted mages. Though forgotten in history, his feats were preserved by Ip Hanel, who served as a living record.

*He even challenged the Prime Sorcerer.*

What means could he have used to counter a ninth-class mage, a mage capable of controlling meteors and thunderstorms?

*Wait…*

Baek Yuseol’s eyes detected something peculiar—a mass of mana writhing within the black curtain. It was a structure he found familiar. He often disrupted spells by cutting through the magic’s joints, and this mass seemed like… the core of the spell itself.

He shivered.

Advancing in mastery wasn’t usually this easy. Though he’d grown more proficient with “Super Focus,” suddenly being able to see the core of a spell was beyond his expectations.

But there was no time for hesitation.

Hands, whips, and arrows flew at him from every direction, driving him into a corner.

*Swoosh!*

He swung his sword, slashing the air before him, creating a brief gap.

*Now or never.*

Charging straight toward the curtain was a reckless gamble. He wasn’t sure if striking the core would dispel it, but he pushed off and sprinted with all his might.

After all, this was just practice.

Surely, Scarlet didn’t mean to truly kill him.

“Ah!”

Seeing him race toward the curtain, Scarlet’s face lit up.

Baek Yuseol raised his azure sword, glinting with ice magic, and swung it slowly yet deliberately.

*Slice!*

His blade pierced the dark curtain, creating a tiny tear. The wound seemed minor, hardly significant.

The students, watching in disbelief, doubted his approach.

But then…

*Shraaak!*

The curtain split cleanly in two from top to bottom, as if it had been cut in half.

“What… just happened?”  
“He cut through that…?”

The students gasped in shock as Baek Yuseol continued advancing toward Scarlet.

**[The Clouds of Dawn has been dispelled.]**

The core he’d struck was apparently not just the heart of the curtain but the heart of the entire “Clouds of Dawn” domain. The black mist began dissipating.

In the absence of the spatial control, Scarlet remained still, watching Baek Yuseol approach with a satisfied expression.

*Yes, this was the feeling.*

Memories resurfaced.

Ha Taeryeong had once charged at her in the same way, slicing through the ninth-class spell, *Galactic Bridge*, with an ice-blue blade. Baek Yuseol’s movements now mirrored his.

Even though today’s spell had only been fifth-class, it was irrelevant.

She had glimpsed potential.

So Scarlet allowed Baek Yuseol to close the distance, greeting him with a beaming smile as he reached her, resting his hand on her shoulder.

“Well done, you pass!”

With that declaration, the black, cosmic-like space she had conjured faded, and the classroom returned to normal.

“Everyone! There’s no homework today~!”

Cheers erupted from all corners of the room, students bursting with joy.

“Baek Yuseol! Baek Yuseol!”  
“Thanks, I only have 11 assignments now!”  
“Yes! Three hours of sleep tonight, here I come!”

Despite the applause, Baek Yuseol remained in a daze, his hand on Scarlet’s shoulder.

He couldn’t quite believe what he had just accomplished.

As he stared at her in awe, Scarlet leaned close and whispered into his ear as she passed.

“Was it a good lesson?”

He turned to question her, but Scarlet had already vanished from the classroom.